Don't Die on Me (my version anyway)
by msd1423daly
Summary: This is what I think should have happened during Don't Die on Me. The story seems like it wants to keep going, so stay tuned... had to change the rating to M.
1. Chapter 1

Catherine walked into the Gentleman's club. Vincent was at the bar, glass of water in hand and looking horrible. He looked up expectantly as she walked in, but narrowed his eyes when he saw it was her. "JT is not here", he stated abruptly.

Catherine lashed out, "I know, he's in jail". Vincent looked up "Ok you have to get him out of there." "We are working on that; Tess went to get him and the blood and meds he was caught stealing for you. Jesus! Vincent why don't you go to the hospital you obviously are in worse shape than you let on back at the boathouse."

Vincent angrily responded "You of all people should know why I can't go to the hospital!" Catherine shook her head, "Murfield is gone and my father is in jail, no one is hunting you anymore."

"I am supposed to be dead remember! I go to the hospital with a gunshot wound and they are going to figure out I am Vincent Keller."

"So What." Catherine shrugs her shoulders.

"So I don't even know who that is anymore"…..

Catherine looked at Vincent….. is this what they had come to? He looked so lost and hurt. She realized then, he also looked betrayed "Oh Vincent!" Catherine walked up to him and put her hand on his face and her other hand over his heart. "I know who you are, who Vincent Keller is… You were so close to realizing that yourself. You are the man who saved my life more times than I can count. You are the man who pushed me away last year because you did not think that you were worthy enough for me, you are the man who looked into my soul and loved me, who saw beyond the damage that my mother's death had caused. You looked out for me and watched over me for 10 years. You brought me back to myself. Let me help you do the same, that's all I want for you."

"Really? So that is why you shot me!"

"YES! I did it to save you. It was not about choosing my father over you, it was about choosing YOU! Vincent you may not know yourself right now, but I know you and killing my father was something you would NEVER recover from. Last year when you killed Darius while saving Heather's life it almost destroyed you and us. You were willing to walk away from us over your guilt. I did not want that for you again. I know you are confused right now, but the man you are that hasn't changed and the man you are would never forgive himself for killing my Father."

Vincent still angry… said "I am not a man I am a beast!"

Catherine started to cry, "I am sorry, this is all my fault…. I am the reason that Murfield captured you, everything that was done to you is on my hands. I should have held on, I should have clawed my way up into that net. I should have done something to prevent them from taking you away from me." Catherine closes in on herself arms wrapped around her waist as if she can hold it all in, but the sobs break free. "I love you Vincent and that is never going to change and I am sorry that it wasn't enough to save you...That I am not strong enough to save you"…..

Vincent stares at Catherine, he can feel their pull, he can hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest, and he knows she is telling the truth. He desperately wants to be the man she is describing, but is it even possible? Can he come back from the things he's done, does he even want to?...That is the question, this is the thing that will tear them apart or keep them together. What does he want?

"Catherine", he says her name like a caress no one else says her name like that. "Catherine look at me." She looks up eyes full of as yet unshed tears. "I think you might be strong enough", he whispers. "I don't want to be a monster"….

"Vincent!" Catherine reaches up and puts both of her hands on his face, he gently places his hand on the side of her face, and they touch foreheads…."Help me"….. He says quietly.

"I will"… she responds. They are so close now, breathing each others breath just savoring the closeness.

Suddenly Catherine can feel Vincent tense up, she knows that Tori is in the room now. Catherine holds tight to Vincent, "Vincent I am here with you, be here with me, you can fight this you are stronger than this." Vincent starts to pant and his eye's change color, he looks at Catherine with fear. "It's OK, I love you Vincent and that is never going to change. You can do this, I have faith in you." Vincent closes his eyes and takes a deep breath when he opens his eyes again they are normal and he is in control.

Tori is fuming mad, she starts to move toward Catherine and Vincent. "STOP" Vincent words stop Tori in her tracks. "What the hell is going on Vincent, she just shot you … and now she loves you!"

"Tori you need to understand something"…. "I love Catherine"…..

Everyone in the room stops…Catherine is holding her breath, not sure she heard him right, Tori looks like she could rip Catherine to shreds, but she is staying put. Vincent looks…at peace. As if saying the words out loud released him. "Tori, I know you are confused and I can't really blame you but you need to calm down and listen to me. I want to help you figure things out, but only as your friend. I have not been fair to you and you might have believed that there was something between us and for that I am sorry. I was hurt and confused and this animal like thing we have between us just made it worse. But hear me now"…..he reached out and grabs Catherine's hand. "I love Catherine and nothing and no one is going to change that."

Catherine is having trouble breathing and sits down on the couch. Tori storms over to Vincent and places her hand on his shoulder. "REALLY" she says, "there is nothing between us, you can feel it when I am close to you, I could tell when I walked in the room you knew I was there… What is this if not something."

"Tori", Vincent stops…yes he can feel something but it is nothing like what he felt earlier. Almost as if admitting his feelings for Catherine is letting the man who is Vincent exert more control over his beast. Vincent looks at Tori and just like that she knows, her hold on him has gone. Catherine is looking at Vincent and she too can tell that whatever hold Tori had on him is gone.

Catherine and Vincent turn to Tori and tell her that together they will help her figure things out; it's up to her to decide if she wants them to. Tori looks at them both together and realizes this is what she wants, she wants someone to look at her like Vincent has always looked at Catherine a way in which he has never looked at her. "OK, but first we have a problem. Someone else knows about Beasts"…

Tori explained what happened earlier when she went to see her father's lawyers. Catherine asks "Why would they be so interested in an antique store? " Tori just shrugs her shoulders. Vincent interjects, "I don't know but we need to go there and find out."

Both Tori and Catherine are in agreement. Catherine tells Vincent "You are not in any shape to go anywhere. JT and Tess should be here soon with blood and meds unless you have changed your mind about the hospital?" No Vincent still wanted to see if they could fix him with the stuff JT and Tess were bringing. "Tori and I will check out the antique store and see what is up. You stay here and wait for JT." Vincent was not happy about it but really did not see another way.

"Catherine come here"…. Vincent cups her face and kisses her gently, "we have a lot to talk about still, so be careful." Catherine looks at Vincent and smiles, "I will and Vincent promise me if it gets too bad, please call an ambulance I just got you back and I don't want to lose you." Vincent smiles back at her, the first real smile he has had in months, "I will, I promise."

Cat and Tori take off to the Curio Shop. Vincent is passed out when JT and Tess arrive with blood and meds. JT is frantic and Tess tries to calm him down. But JT will have none of it. "It's my entire fault, all of this"….

"What are you talking about?" Tess asks looking at him funny. JT responds…. "All of it, I am the one who gave Vincent's name to Murflied, I am the reason they came to him in the first place." All of a sudden Vincent says "Yeah, but I am the one who said yes." Vincent opens his eyes. JT and Vincent look at each other, "I am sorry" says JT, "I know" says Vincent. Tess chimes in" Hey you two I don't want to interrupt your moment, but where the hell is Catherine."

Vincent explains, "She and Tori went to the Curio shop to see what is up, JT you have to fix me up so I can get over there and help her."

"HER?" Both JT and Tess say at the same time. Vincent closes his eyes and says "Catherine," even Tess notices the way he says her name and adds "What about Tori?" Vincent tells them what happened when Catherine showed up there earlier. "Whoa" they both exclaim, "that was quick."

"Not really" Vincent says "I have always felt the connection to Catherine, I just didn't trust it, once I did Tori did not have the same effect on me. Regardless I have a lot to make up for." JT grins and says "Well let's get you fixed up so you can get to it!" JT and Tess look at each other and smile, both genuinely happy for their friends.

At the curio shop, Tori and Catherine look around all the junk. "Why would they want this place," Catherine asks Tori. "I have no idea" she replied. Tori wants to ask Catherine about Vincent but is afraid of her reaction. "Cat can I ask you something about Vincent."

"Sure… "Do you really love him, all of him, It seems like since I have known you all you talk about is his beast side and you seemed so unhappy. It's confusing to me."

"I know Tori and I don't blame you, I was confused and in some ways I still am. You didn't know us last year before Vincent was kidnapped. It took us awhile to admit how we felt about one another, but it was always there from the minute I met him I felt connected to him."

"It was a once in a lifetime kind of love and to have that ripped away...We were just finding our way back to each other when you showed up. Between the effect you have on him and being manipulated by my Father we lost our way. But yes I love him, I have always loved him, he saved my life in more ways than one. Without him I am lost". Catherine looked at Tori, "We have a lot to work out and I am not sure that he will ever be the Vincent I knew last year, but it doesn't matter to me. I love both versions of him."

Tori thought a moment…. "I am sorry I took advantage of my effect on him, at first I didn't even realize it and then when I realized that I am all alone I did not want to lose him so I pushed it even though I could tell his heart wasn't in it. That has always belonged to you. I was just so afraid to be alone…I was willing to settle for what I could get from him. But seeing him with you...That is what I want for myself, it's what I deserve."

"Tori I promise you are not alone. Vincent will still be there for you and so will I." Cat explained further, "I meant what I said to you, I know what it is like to carry this secret, Tess and JT and even Gabe are all here for you. You do not have to face this alone." Tori exhaled in relief, "Thank You, you don't know what this means to me. Let's find out what the hell they are looking for so we can get out of here."

They locate a modern looking item on the wall, Tori asks,"what is that?" "I think I know-One of the lawyers from earlier is standing there with a couple of the others, only now they have guns. Cat is really wishing she had not left her spare weapon at home this morning.

After some threats are exchanged they explain what Cat and Tori had found was a retinal scanner, they need Tori to use the scanner, they don't need Cat. One of the suspects puts his gun under Cat's chin and threatens to shoot her if Tori does not do what they ask. All of a sudden a roar fills the room from above and Vincent drops down. All hell breaks loose as Vincent starts throwing bad guys around and Tori beasts out as well. Cat not to be left out starts to kick some ass too and pretty quick the bad buys are either dead or incapacitated. Vincent on the other hand does not look good; he drops to the ground bleeding. Catherine rushes over to him and yells at Tori to call 911 and Tess. Vincent is bad enough off to not even argue with her…..

Vincent is having trouble remaining conscious, Catherine is holding his head and yelling at him to stay with her, but her voice sounds so far away and it is getting harder to hear her. He tries to lift his arms up to touch her, but he can't move them, he is looking at her face but she is moving away from him, he tries to tell her not to go, but everything goes black… Catherine feels for a pulse, it's there but thready and his breathing is shallow all she can do is wait for the ambulance. It arrives and she leaves with it to the hospital.

Tori stays behind to wait for JT and Tess….

Once the ambulance arrives at the hospital Vincent is whisked into surgery and all Cat can do is wait alone.

Jt and Tess arrive at the curio shop and Tori fills them in on everything that has happened. Tess takes control…. "Let's figure out what they wanted here because I need to get to the hospital, Cat should not be alone right now" Tori uses the retinal scanner and a panel against the wall slides open. They take off down a tunnel and what they find leaves them speechless. It's a skeleton, and it's not human. Around the neck of the skeleton is a metal shackle. This is JT's territory and he tells Tess to head for the hospital, he can take it from here. Tori is torn between wanting to check on V and respecting Catherine's claim on him. She decided to stay with JT to help. "Please tell Catherine….well just think of something nice and say I said it"…. Tess looks at Tori, and smiles "I will."

At the hospital Cat is pacing back and forth when Tess arrives. "Tess!"! Cat grabs her in a big hug.

"Hey it's OK I am here, what is going on."

"He is in surgery and I have not heard anything from the Dr's yet. I can't lose him Tess, I just got him back! this whole think is my fault, if he dies and I am the one who shot him"…..

Tess gives her a hug, "Hey he is stronger than you think, plus it seems to be you gave him something to fight for"…. Cat looks a little relieved, "Your right, distract me please what happened at the shop?" Tess filled her in…. Catherine looks at her eyes wide "A skeleton a beast skeleton, whoa I wonder what it all means." Tess smiles with a big cheesy grin,"JT will figure it out that man is amazing."

Catherine looks at Tess. "Really JT?" Tess smiled and said "Yes JT".

"He was Thanksgiving! And the flowers and the balloons! How could you not tell me, what are we strangers!" Catherine exclaimed. Tess laughed "well you have been a little preoccupied lately."

While Tess was waiting with Catherine, JT and Tori were back at the club with the beast skeleton. Tori felt like a third wheel even though one of those wheels was a skeleton, she didn't have anything to do and she just paced around. While JT is examining the skeleton totally oblivious to her; she slips out and heads for the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

I wrote chapter 1 some time ago, so you may want to go back and refresh your memory. I will be updating this story regularly now. I promise NO GABERINE! If you are just finding me check out my one shot redo of _Liar Liar_ and my take on what should have happened _After Redemption._

Chapter 2

Catherine and Tess were still waiting to hear from Vincent's doctor when Tori showed up.

"I hope it's alright that I am here. I really didn't have anything to do at JT's and I was worried about Vincent."

Catherine smiled at Tori, "Of course it's Ok, and I appreciate you coming. This way we can get a chance to talk some more."

"What do you want to know?" Tori asked.

"Nothing specific, I guess, just more about you, I told you that I was younger than you when I met Vincent and all the beast stuff was hard to wrap my head around at first. So I am concerned about how you are doing with the whole _actually being a beast thing_?"

Tori thought about it, "It's weird, I know its not normal, but I feel like this is normal…maybe because my Father kept such a close eye on me, I feel free now and the beast just makes it easier….but on the other hand I don't have real good control so it's scary too. I don't want to hurt anyone. Vincent's been great at helping me, but I think it's just going to take some time." First off I have to find a place to live. I have been staying on the boathouse while the penthouse was repaired, but that probably is not such a good idea."

"I can't argue with you there" Catherine said smiling to take the sting out of her words. But I think Vincent is going to be here for a little bit, so you have some time."

The doctor came out and asked to speak to Catherine. "Mrs. Zalanski?"

Catherine stood up, "Yes that is me, how is he?"

"Your husband's gunshot wound was not that serious on it's own but he sustained some serious blood loss, we have him in a medically induced coma, just to give his body a chance to heal. The next 24 hours will be critical. If he makes it through those, he should be just fine. You can sit with him once he is moved out of recovery and into ICU. But only one of you can stay."

Catherine collapsed in her chair. "Thank you Doctor Markus," she said looking at his name tag to see his name.

"No problem." He turned and went back down the hallway.

"Mrs. Zalanski?" Tori, arches her eyebrow and looks at Catherine.

"Yeah, I gave him a fake name, I am not sure he is ready to go public just yet, it's his decision and it won't hold up to intense scrutiny but it will buy him some time."

"You guys don't have to stay here with me, I am going to grab a cup of coffee and then just sit with Vincent."

Tess gave Cat a big hug, "Let's go get you some coffee and then Tori and I will head back to JT's to see if there is anything we can help with."

Tori offered to bring some of Vincent's clothes by in the morning.

"Thank You" Cat said as she gave Tori and hug too. "Now let's go get some coffee!"

Catherine sat by Vincent's bedside, listening to the beeps marking his heartbeat. She was holding his hand in hers. What she wanted to do was crawl up in the bed, put her arms around him and never let him go. They had come so close to losing everything.

Catherine was lost in thought; they had so much to work through; her Father, Tori, and his lack of memory. Catherine was still trying to digest the fact that Vincent said he loved her. How was that possible when he didn't fully remember her or their life together? How was that possible when she had just shot him?

"I'm sorry, Vincent….I just didn't know what else to do please don't die on me. Please fight….please don't leave me." Catherine put her head down on Vincent's hand and cried softly, letting the all the tears that she had been holding in all these month come.

She fell asleep and didn't notice, Vincent's eyes moving vigorously behind his eyelids or hear his heart beat speed up.

Vincent was remembering EVERYTHING. It was coming in waves that he could not control. He remembered the first time she found him in the warehouse, how even though she had every reason to arrest him, she trusted him and kept Tess from finding him, protecting him even then.

He remembered how she made him feel human, made him feel alive, how she came after him when he wanted to turn himself into Muirfield, how she fought for him. She had no fear when it came to defending him.

He remembered finding that dating profile she had filled out and realizing that she wanted him. He remembered dancing at her Father's wedding and how it felt to hold her for the first time. He also remembered how scared he'd been to lose her when she almost died after her car crash.

She had stuck by him even after Alex and what he had put her through.

He remembered hearing her say _I love you_ and telling her how much in love he was with her and how it felt to kiss her for the very first time.

He remembered how it felt when he had made love to her for the first time, how she was not afraid when his beast showed up, how she could calm him with just a touch.

He remembered being cured and how close they had come to having the normal life they had dreamed of.

He remembered fighting with Gabe and watching as he threw her across the courtyard, how the beast exploded out of him to defend her and then watching her face as he was ripped away from her. The feeling of her hand slipping out of his, her crying out his name and with that Vincent cried out….

"Catherine"…He woke up. He was staring at her as if seeing her for the first time in a long time.

Catherine's head shot up, "Vincent, you're awake! What's wrong?" She placed her hand against his cheek.

Vincent squeezed his eyes shut as tears threatened to overwhelm him. He savored the feeling of her hand against his face, God he had missed her. He opened his eyes and looked at the woman he loved more than his own life.

"Catherine, I remember….everything."

Catherine just stared at him and could see that it was true; it was HER Vincent staring back at her. "Oh Vincent, I have missed you so much," she said her voice breaking.

He held out his arms and she carefully crawled up beside him and they held on to each other, eventually falling asleep secure in each other's arms.

That is how JT and Tess found them the next morning.

"Hey," Tess said softly as she and JT entered Vincent's room.

Catherine woke up and smiled at them both. She got down off the bed and gave JT a huge hug. "He remembers JT….. He remembers everything." She whispered so as not to wake Vincent.

"That's a miracle," he said hugging her back. "Although it might have something to do with surgery and whatever drugs they gave him, they always tell you to think about what you want to dream about before they put you under. Maybe his last thoughts were of you and under the influence of the drugs they used to keep him in a coma, the memories came back."

Tess trying to find the bright side said, "So shooting him was maybe not such a bad thing? "

"So maybe she should have shot me months ago?" Vincent asked sleepily.

"I'm sorry we woke you," said Catherine sheepishly, "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I've been hit by a Mack truck." Vincent said smiling, "But it was worth it."

He looked at JT, "It's good to see you man! I'm sorry I…."

"Dude seriously don't worry about it, just get better so you can get the hell out of here before they figure out who you really are."

Vincent looked at Catherine "they don't know already?'

"I told them you were my husband Vincent Zalanski and I was so distraught I did not have any paperwork. I didn't know if you were ready to go public." Catherine explained.

"Husband?" Vincent said raising his eyebrow at Catherine.

She shrugged her shoulders, "It was the only way I could stay with you and find out what was going on with you."

"Tori is going to bring you some of your own clothes today as well, I told her she could stay at the boathouse until you're ready to go home."

"Sounds like you have everything under control!" Vincent said.

And it was true, until Dr. Markus walked in to check on his patient…..

"Good Morning, Mr. Zalanski" he said as he came into the room, his head down looking at Vincent's chart.

JT and Tess stepped out into the hallway to give him some room and Catherine held onto Vincent's hand.

"I am surprised you woke up on your own, those drugs you were on should have kept you unconscious for another 12 hours. You must have an incredibly high metabolism, Mr. Zalanski"

After speaking Dr. Markus got a good look at his patient. "Vincent?...Vincent Keller?"

"Oh Shit" JT said from the hallway hearing the Dr. call Vincent by his real name.

Catherine started to correct the Dr., but Vincent squeezed her hand.

"Hello Dr. Markus, it's good to see you."

"I thought you were dead? How are you….where have you…..?"

"I know it's confusing…. Dr. Markus, this is Catherine Chandler, my…. "_handler_."

Vincent looked at Catherine, "Dr. Markus was the attending at St. Benjamin's hospital when I was a resident there. Now he apparently works here."

Catherine not missing a beat stepped up and flashed her badge "Dr. Markus you have to trust me when I say that it is important that people believe that Vincent Keller is dead, that is why he is here under a fake name.

Dr. Markus shook his head, "Vincent, you were one of the best doctors I ever had the pleasure of mentoring, I can't pretend to understand what's going on, but I trust you so we will leave it at that."

Catherine and Vincent both breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank You Dr. Markus," said Vincent "If ever the day comes that I can tell you what is going on, I will."

"That would be great, but what would be even greater is to see you get back into medicine Vincent, you were one of the good ones."

Vincent closed his eyes overwhelmed by all the emotions washing over him. It had been awhile since he had felt so many emotions. "Thank You."

"Well your vitals look good, I want to keep you another day or two to monitor your stitches and to give you a chance to recover from all the blood loss."

As he turned to leave he said "I will check on you again later and I will make sure your secret is safe." With those words he left.

"_Handler_?" Catherine said, holding back laughter.

Vincent smiled, "It was the first thing that popped in my head"

JT and Tess came back in, this time with Tori who had showed up while Dr. Markus was in the room.

"Hi Vincent," she said tentatively not sure of her reception from him. "I brought you some things from home…she stuttered…. your home I mean."

"Tori, come here," Vincent said holding out his free hand to her. Catherine was still clutching the other one and tightens her grip as he beckons Tori close. Vincent squeezes Catherine's hand back.

"Thank you for bringing me my stuff. You are welcome to stay at the houseboat as long as you need. I am not going back there. He looks at JT; hopefully I can have my old room back?"

JT grins so hard, it looks like he was going to hurt himself, "Absofrickenloutly!"

They all laugh, although Vincent grimaced. Taking his hand from Tori and placing it over his wound. "Ouch! Maybe laughing is not such a good idea right now."

"Look we should get out of your hair and let you rest. I am going to head back and keep working on the skeleton; I am running a bunch of tests." Said JT

Tess was going to head into work, see what was going on at the precinct and update Gabe.

Catherine looked at Tori, feeling sorry her with no where to go. "Tori if you want to stay for awhile, I could use a break to run home shower, and change."

Tori looked surprised. "You want me to stay with Vincent?"

"I am sure you guys have plenty to talk about."

Catherine leaned down and captured Vincent's face in her hands and kissed him. "I will be back as soon as I can."

Vincent reached up with hand and cupped her cheek, "Hurry back, I miss you already." And he kissed her one more time before she left.

After Catherine left, Tori was uncomfortable, she didn't really know what to say to Vincent. "I'm sorry" she said in an effort to make things more comfortable.

"Tori, listen you have nothing to apologize for. This is my entire fault. Until I woke up a little while ago, I did not remember the last year of my life. I did not remember Catherine. I have spent the last few months, trying to be what she wanted me to be, because there was something about her that kept pulling me to her, but I did not really understand it and it was never clear. Then I killed your father, essentially turning you into a beast or turning on your beast. Then your effect on me and my decision to go after Catherine's father, to not trust her. The truth is I have made a huge mess of everyone's life yours included, I owe you the apology, not the other way around, OK?"

"I guess this is just a mess for the both of us huh?" Tori said. "But no more blame, I just want you to know that I can see how you feel about Catherine, I always could, I was just afraid to be alone, so I am sorry that I pushed and goaded you."

"All is forgiven; let's focus on the future now." Vincent said. "So what do you want?"

Tori had no idea; she spent so much of her life under control of her Father that she had never really thought about it. Now with the beast a part of her, she wasn't sure what her future held. "Can you teach me to control it better?" Tori asked.

"I can try, you are not a created beast like me, you were born one, so I am guessing your level of control will be pretty good. Your life can go on and you can do whatever you want Tori, being a beast doesn't have to change everything if you learn to control it."

"What are you going to do Vincent? Go public and go back to being a Doctor? No one is after you right now, and you may even be safer if you go public. I am pretty well known and a long lost war hero who saved my life is something we could work with. You would be harder to make disappear if you became a public figure."

"I haven't really given it that much thought…..once I get out of here I am going to have to find something to do, my FBI supported beast hunting days are over and I can't expect Catherine or JT to support me."

"There is still Catherine's father to deal with and whatever it was that your Father was doing at the curio shop with the beast skeleton, but that stuff doesn't pay the bills. OK now I am exhausted just thinking about all of this. I am going to close my eye a bit alright?"

"Sure I will be right here if you need anything, til Catherine gets back."

Catherine returned to the hospital and found Vincent asleep and Tori watching over him,

"How is he doing?" Catherine asked quietly so as not to wake him up.

"Good," Tori whispered, "He has been asleep for about an hour, I am going to take off and leave you two alone."

Catherine sat by Vincent and watched him as he slept. There was no rush now, they had all the time in the world to figure things out, they were together and they could face anything.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Vincent moved back into the Gentleman's Club with JT after being released from the hospital. Catherine and Tori take turns playing nursemaid, although Vincent enjoys it far better when Catherine plays the role of naughty nurse. It is mostly just teasing as he needs to recover his strength.

JT is working on the beast skeleton. He'd carbon dated it to over 10,000 years old. Clearly beasts had been around far longer than Muirfield, what that actually meant. No one knew. He figured out the shackle was most likely used as a collar, but there was a notch in the collar that he had no explanation for.

Catherine and Tess were actually able to get some work done for the NYPD and Gabe has taken Tori under his wing with Vincent out of commission recovering.

All in all it had been a peaceful couple of weeks. That was about to change.

Vincent was feeling much better and was going to try something new in an effort to be fully recovered. He had never had much patience and while it had been good for him and Catherine to spend the last few weeks talking, he was getting impatient for other things to happen. Catherine kept putting on the brakes afraid that he wasn't healed enough to make love.

Vincent did not have his beast super healing abilities anymore, but he did tend to heal faster than regular people, especially when in beast mode. So he was planning on beasting out to see if that would push him over the edge of healing. The problem was Catherine or Tori were always around checking on him and he didn't know how Catherine would react or how his beast would react to Tori. But he was impatient and the sight of Catherine's sweet ass as she was bending down to pick up some clothing off the floor was the last straw.

"Catherine, come over here" He says her name in that sexy breathy way he has.

"You ok? What do you need?" She stands up and walks over to him.

Vincent smiles a slow sexy smile. "I need you. Now! Come over here please."

"Vincent I am not sure you're ready yet," she said placing her hand over his healing scar.

Vincent is more than ready, his skin feels tight and his balls ache so badly, it makes his teeth hurt. Not to mention the fact that his cock is straining against the fabric of his boxers. He desperately needed to feel Catherine naked against him.

"I know you're worried, but I have an idea. I don't want you to freak out, but I am going to go beast….. that should finish any healing I have left to do. I didn't want to surprise you and I did not want to freak you out, so you can go if you want to or you can stay it's up to you. He stares at her and suddenly realizes he really hopes she stays, that she will accept all of him.

Catherine is afraid, the last time she saw his beast; she had shot him. What if the beast is pissed at her or something like that.

"Of course I'll stay Vincent, whatever you need." She says trying to be brave.

Vincent closes his eyes and summons the beast to the surface; it is so different than in the past. Back then he had been constantly afraid, now he could control it and he actually enjoyed the feeling of power it gave him.

As Vincent disappeared and the beast took his place, Vincent could feel the healing, his tissues knitting back together, stronger, his muscles growing and everything going back to the way it belonged. He lifted his head, arched his back and stretched. God that felt good, it had been too long.

He is startled by a hand on his chest. He looks down and Catherine is standing right in front of him, while he is still fully beast. She is not afraid and when he looks down at her, she places her hand on the side of his face. He growls softly and she smiles.

"Hi" she says smiling tentatively, looking into his golden eyes. He can read no fear there; in fact he can see the love shining through her eyes. He can also tell she is aroused. Her pulse is racing and her breathing is quickening.

He stands perfectly still afraid to ruin the moment and with no idea of what she is going to do next.

She places her other hand on his face and pulls his head down, touching her forehead to his. Catherine can feel Vincent straining to stand still, his muscles are quivering with barely held tension. Catherine lifts her head and kisses Vincent forehead, she then uses her hands to trace the ridges of his face.

Vincent tries to pull away from her, embarrassed at what he must look like, but she won't let him go.

"Vincent you are beautiful, don't hide from me. I love you, ALL of you," she said as she strokes the side of his face. She ran her hands down the side of his neck and over his shoulders, down his arms to clasp her hands in his, claws and all.

"I know you won't hurt me."

Vincent makes a noise almost like a purr, he lets go of Catherine's hands and gently wraps his arms around her and pulls her close. Catherine places her head against his chest and sighs. They stand there for a few minutes, his beast enjoying the feeling of holding Catherine in his arms.

Vincent tucks his head into the crook of her shoulder and breathes her in. Her unique scent calls to the man in him and as his lips find her neck, they are fully human. Vincent pulls Catherine into him, one hand wrapped around her back while the other slides down to cup her ass.

Catherine moans as she feels Vincent hard against her stomach.

Vincent lifts his head and captures her mouth, He kisses her gently at first, pulling her lower lip into his mouth, his tongue gently playing against it. Catherine opens her mouth and slides her tongue against his. Her hands come to slide up his neck, her fingers sliding through is hair as she pulls him closer. Mouths fused, their tongues explore each other.

They pull back from each other, needing oxygen, chests are heaving, arms wrapped around one another.

Vincent says "I can't believe I almost lost you." He says as he cups her head in his hands. "I love you so much. You are the most amazingly fearless woman I have ever met, how are you not afraid of me…..of him."

"Vincent, a few months ago when you pushed me, you didn't know me, I must of come across as some crazy person stalking you, seducing you and demanding that you remember me. You freaked out, it is completely understandable. Other than that one time, you have never hurt me, I trust you and now that you love me, I will never be afraid of you."

Catherine leans in to kiss Vincent and that is all that's needed to reignite the inferno. He picks her up and lays her gently on the bed. "I promise to spend the rest of my life making sure you are never afraid of me. But hang on baby cause right now, I want you so badly, I can't be gentle."

"I don't need gentle Vincent, I just need you." With those words Catherine surrenders to Vincent.

He takes his time taking off her clothing, and then hurries up and discards his own. Finally she is naked, stretched out against him. This is what he has been missing; this is what he has been dying for.

"You are so beautiful Catherine." He whispers against her mouth as she opens up to him, he slides his tongue inside mimicking what he wants to do to the rest of her. Vincent kisses his way down her to her breasts, sliding his tongue around one nipple then another.

Catherine arches her back pushing herself into Vincent's mouth. Vincent works his way down her torso, hands and mouth worshiping her body. Catherine lifts her hips as Vincent's hand finds her center. He holds his palm against her as she pulses against it.

"Vincent" Catherine breathes his name, desperate to feel him inside her.

"Look at me, Catherine" Vincent is looking into her soul as he enters her.

Catherine is drowning in those hazel pools; Vincent lowers his head and kisses her, slowly as he moves in and out of her.

Catherine is panting, "I thought you couldn't be gentle?" she teases him.

Vincent smiles and takes her arms, pinning them above her head.

He lowers his head and takes one of her nipples into his mouth, his tongue flicks back and forth as he increases his pace.

Catherine raises her hips to meet him, bodies coming together. She wraps her legs around him, so every time he pulls back she comes with him and then back again as he comes home.

Vincent increases the pace in time with Catherine's cries of pleasure. All the little noises she makes urge him on faster and faster, until all he feels is her body as he slams into her.

Vincent can tell when Catherine is close, she starts to come apart around him, squeezing him, with one final thrust he seats himself to the hilt as they both explode.

Vincent collapses on Catherine, breathing heavily into her neck as she wraps her arms around him, holding him close, and nuzzling into his neck. "Mmmnn that is more like it, I guess this means your better."

Vincent lifts his head and raises an eyebrow at her. "I'd be happy to prove to you again, just how much better." Vincent says as he kisses her….

Vincent and Catherine come downstairs and the first thing JT notices is the huge smile on his best friends face.

"Well someone is feeling better, I see."

"Just tell me what I have missed OK, JT?"

"Well Gabe and Tori have been spending a lot of time together, she really is not a bad kid, she just needs direction and with you out of commission Gabe has really stepped up. It's good for both of them."

"What about this beast skeleton?" Vincent asked.

"It's old, like 10,000 years old, and it looks natural, I mean that I don't think cave men were doing experiments and then came up with this." JT said pointing at the skeleton.

"It looks like an extinct species. My guess for now is that someone, somewhere, sometime ago discovered this and used DNA from it to make the cocktail that turned you into a beast."

"JT that is a lot of something's….." Vincent said.

"I know man, but who knows if this is the actual beast that was used, or if Muirfield had another one of its own. We know Windsor was an early investor in Muirfield, but I can't believe that Muirfield would let Windsor have it, obviously if Muirfield has something like this, it's locked up somewhere.

"The fact that this is an extinct species, explains how Tori came to be. It's a distant cousin so its DNA must mutate in the human body and is able to pass on it's genetics to its offspring. JT explained.

"I wonder if Windsor knew Tori is a beast and that was why he kept such a close eye on her?" Vincent wondered.

"Someone knows that Tori is a beast, because those "lawyers" that came to the curio shop were working for someone." Catherine pointed out. "Question is what do they want?"

"Someone wants to make more beasts," Vincent looks at Catherine, "you are not going to like this, but what if your Dad is actually on the right side?"

"What!" Catherine says surprised.

"Well, he had me hunting beasts, including myself, he was trying to rid the world of them, and except for the fact that he tried to kill me and keep us apart, he was actually doing the right thing. All those beasts I took out were bad people and no judicial system in the world could punish them."

"Vincent he kidnapped you, tortured you, erased your memory and then tired to kill you! Not to mention he took you from me….me! His own daughter and put me through hell these last few months. He witnessed what being without you was doing to me, and he didn't care. He is evil."

"Catherine, I am not saying what he did was right, far from it, but I think his motives might be pure. He did not know me, Catherine or what we had. All he could see was you involved with a beast and he thought I was dangerous, he thought he was protecting you from me and from the pain I would eventually cause you" Vincent looked ashamed, "and he wasn't wrong, look at how much pain I have caused you since I came back…."

Catherine had heard enough. "No, Vincent that pain was caused by him and whatever he did to you, when he had you in custody. All this pain and suffering is on him, not you. I will not allow you to make him the hero and you the monster. He is the monster, Vincent not you. Don't you see?… even after all he did to you; you still fought back and became the Vincent I loved again. You are stronger than their programming; you are stronger than your beast. YOU are the best man that I know so I don't want to hear anymore guilt from you!"

Vincent looked at Catherine; she stood there so proud and fierce, ready to battle the world for him. How did he find her and what did he ever do to deserve her? "OK, no more guilt from me, but we need to go and talk to your father. So no guilt from me, but you have to promise me you will listen to what your father has to say, give him a chance to tell his side of the story. Maybe we can show him, I am not a threat to you and get his help."

"Fine, I will give him one chance, only one chance to see that you are different and to help us. If he does fine, if he does not, then he can rot in jail for the rest of his life."

JT chimes in." I will just stay here and throw pencils at the ceiling!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Vincent and Catherine met with Bob Reynolds at Rikers Island. He was understandably surprised to see them.

"I have to say I am surprised to see you together. I would have thought trying to kill me and shooting you….. Would have been the end of you two"

"We are not here to talk to you about Vincent's and my relationship, Bob, we are here because you have answers and despite my thinking that you are an evil son of a bitch, Vincent actually thinks you might have been doing the right thing, by getting rid of beasts."

Bob looks at Vincent with surprise and a modicum of respect. "Well what can I do to help?"

Catherine puts her head down, not sure if she can do this. Actually sit across from the man who made the last 6 months of her life a living hell. The man almost destroyed Vincent. Vincent places his hand on the back of her neck, leans down and whispers to her. "You can do this, you are stronger than him."

Catherine takes a deep breathe, "Vincent seems to think that everything you have done has been to protect me and to keep the world safe from beasts. That even though your methods were disgusting, your motives were good. Is he right?"

Bob leans forward towards Catherine, "Yes, everything I have done has been to keep you safe, from Vincent and from all beasts, they only get worse Catherine and cannot be allowed to continue to exist. You know Muirfield created them and I saw it as my duty to eradicate them."

"Who do you work for, and don't say the FBI, that may be your cover, but they are not responsible for what happened to Vincent." Catherine glared at her father.

Bob did not say anything at first. Vincent spoke up. "Bob you don't trust me, and I get that, but you have to understand something. I am different than other beasts, I always have been, I would never hurt Catherine, and I would give my life for her."

Bob interrupted, "I know that Vincent, because in fact you did just that 6 months ago."

"What?" Both Catherine and Vincent blurt out.

Bob takes a deep breath, "Maybe I should start at the beginning."

"In addition to working for the FBI, I also work for an agency called Sealgairi' or just "S" for short. "S" is dedicated to hunting beasts and keeping beasts a secret. I was working for them when I was called here to NY to deal with Gabe. You know what happened next. I was in the helicopter that captured you, Vincent. I thought Gabe had been killed. I captured you because you were not a beast I had been aware of.

"Catherine I noticed you, just as my partner was about to shoot you, and stopped him because I recognized you."

"We took Vincent to Canada to our containment facility. At first you were uncooperative, trying to escape, literally killing yourself in an attempt to get out and refusing to talk to us. But eventually you figured out that escape was impossible and you started listening to what we were trying to tell you."

"Long story less long, I made a deal. If Vincent agreed to cooperate with us, I would make sure that Catherine was protected. No one at "S" would find out about you or your knowledge of beasts, Catherine."

"It was obvious from the very beginning that Vincent was different from other beasts; you had not lost your humanity. That is why you said yes and that was why we had to erase your memories. The very thing that made you cooperate with us to save Catherine's life was the very thing we had to destroy to get you to work for us…Your humanity."

"No one with your level of compassion would be able to kill the way we needed you to kill. We had to convince you that eradicating beasts was a good thing, that you were serving your country and that you were the only one who could do it! You were the only one who could, track, hunt down and kill beasts."

"So we erased the Vincent Keller you were and created the Vincent Keller who now sits here with us. Although to be fair it would seem that you have gotten back some of your memories and your humanity back."

Catherine stared at her Father. "You expect me to believe that Vincent willingly gave up his memories, his life and me to help you?" Catherine spat the words at her father.

Vincent quietly spoke up, "That is exactly what I did. He is telling the truth Catherine, I can tell." He looked at Catherine pleading with her to remain calm, but he could tell by the look on her face that she was far from calm. Please remember why we are here, we need his help, maybe even help from "S"

Catherine had closed her eyes when Vincent began to speak, as if it would stop him from admitting it, as if it would stop it from being the truth. She was trembling with rage, with a sense of betrayal. She looked at Vincent, her eyes moist with unshed tears. "How could you do that, how could you leave me…..? All alone?"

Catherine got up and walked out of the room. Vincent jumped up to follow her, but she raised her hand up to stop him. "I need a minute, please don't follow me."

Catherine called Tess, "I need you to pick me up at Rikers Island immediately!"

Tess responded "On my way!"

Vincent sat back down across from Bob; he could hear Catherine calling Tess and knew she would be in good hands.

Bob could see that Vincent was shaken to the core, by the realization both of what he had done and what it had done to Catherine.

"Vincent, you did the right thing, you sacrificed your life and happiness to save Catherine. I wish things were different, I wish we had the ability to cure you, but we don't. Keeping Catherine away from Beasts is the only way to keep her safe. As long as you are with her, she is a target. I know you love her, but staying away from her is the best way of showing it."

"Your daughter is not going to see it that way, she does not like to be protected from things and she really isn't going to like the idea of me sacrificing myself to protect her. Some may see it as romantic and self sacrificing. She will see it as bull shit and as me not trusting her; she will see it as a betrayal…"

"As much as I would like to kill you for all the damage you have caused, I get it…..I get why you think I am dangerous, why you would need to protect Catherine from me, but we have a connection, it is more than just love. It's one I don't fully understand, but neither one of us is complete without the other. Even after everything you did to us, we are together again; we will always find each other"

"One more thing, if you need further proof that I am not dangerous, consider this, just a few weeks ago, I wanted to kill you and now I am sitting across from you willing to listen to your point of view and trying to understand the choices you made. If that doesn't show you what kind of MAN I am, then I don't know what will."

Bob thought about everything that Vincent had gone through. First at the hands of the Army and Muirfield and then by him and Vincent was right. Any other man would have broken a long time ago, would have fully embraced the beast in order to escape all the trauma. But not Vincent, he was fighting with everything he had to retain his humanity.

"Vincent, I am sorry….I am sorry for what the Army did to you, and I am sorry for my part in what has happened to you. All I can say in my defense is that I thought I was doing the right thing, and even though I could see that Catherine was hurting, I thought it was better for her in the long run to be free from beasts."

Vincent nodded his head in agreement. But he needed to know one thing. "Even though most of my memories are back, I don't have any memories of my time with you and "S" so answer me this…..Did I knowingly have my memory erased? Did I willingly choose to forget Catherine?"

Reynolds shook his head, "No Vincent…... you thought you were going to help us get rid of a few rogue beasts in exchange for Catherine's safety. When we gave you the upgrades we erased your memories and suppressed your ability to heal fast. We even fixed your scar and cut your hair in an effort to make sure even looking in the mirror didn't trigger any memories."

"What I did not count on was Catherine, I had no idea she would be able to find you and then once she did, that memories would start to return or that your connection to her, as you put it, would override your programming."

"You are right about one thing, Bob, it will be better for Catherine to be free from beasts; the challenge is going to be how we do that. Maybe "S" can help, but that is going to have to wait for another day. Now I have to go find Catherine and try to explain to her why I did what I did….. And hope that she forgives me."

With that Vincent left Bob and headed out to find Catherine.

Tess had picked up Catherine and taken her home. Catherine did not say much in the car, but Tess could tell she was barely keeping it together. When they got to Cat's apartment, Tess finally had to ask.

"Are you OK? What is going on?"

"I am not sure if I am OK Tess, I don't even know how to explain, but after being kidnapped, Vincent agreed to help my father in order to keep me safe from Sealgairi', it's a secret organization that is dedicated to eradicating beasts and keeping their existence secret."

"So once again Vincent made a decision to protect me instead of trusting me. He willingly worked for my Father, Tess! He left me…..all alone…..all that time we searched for him. How could he do that? How could he just walk away from me like that Tess?"

"How am I supposed to trust that he won't leave me again? Every time there is some jeopardy his first instinct is to leave me!"

"Catherine, I don't know, but I know that Vincent loves you and even though I have not always been supportive of him….there has to be more to the story. The one thing I am sure of is that Vincent would sacrifice everything for you, to keep you safe, not because he doesn't trust you, but because he loves you and he may not have felt like he had much of a choice."

"I know your upset and I don't blame you, but you need to talk to Vincent and get his side of the story, and keep this in mind Cat, put yourself in his place…would you have done things any different?"

There was a knock on Cat's door. Tess opened it up to see Vincent standing there looking absolutely miserable.

"Hey" he said, "How is Catherine?"

Tess felt so bad for him, she hugged him. "She is pissed, hurt, angry, and afraid! I don't envy you Vincent," she placed her hand on his shoulder, "But I am positive that whatever your reasons, you thought you were doing the right thing. The hard part is going to be convincing Cat of that!"

"Thanks Tess and thank you for coming to get her when she called you."

Tess called out over her shoulder, "Cat….I am heading out, remember what I said, walk a mile babe….."

Catherine was sitting curled up on the couch, her arms wrapped around her knees as if she could keep it all together by holding on.

Vincent walked up to her. He knelt down in front of the couch; he put his hands on either side of her. "I am sorry you are hurting, and I understand that your upset and I don't blame you, but you need to hear me and believe this one thing….." Vincent places his hand under Catherine's chin and lifts it up, so he is looking directly into her eyes. I did not willingly give up my memories…..I did not choose to forget you."

She looks into his eyes and she can tell how destroyed he is…..How sorry he is, but is it enough? She is terrified that he will leave her again; that he will do what he thinks is best for her again. How can she make him see that HE is what is best for her.

"I am listening." Catherine says giving him the chance to explain.

Vincent breathes a sigh of relief. I don't remember everything from being kidnapped but after you left, Bob, explained that while I had agreed to hunt down beasts for them in order to keep you safe, I did not know they were going to physically/genetically alter me, nor did I know they were going to erase my memories in an effort to erase my humanity."

"I can sense that he is telling the truth. Bob also agreed that trying to keep us apart is futile and he does recognize that we will always find our way back to each other. He understands how much I love you and how much you love me. I think he has even accepted it."

"I know I am not the same Vincent that I was back then, but I can tell you this….The Vincent I am now, would give up my life for yours. I don't know if I would make the same choice again, but I do trust you and I know you would never stop looking for me, and I would never give up on you."

"But…. I would do anything to protect you Catherine, and that may not be fair, and I am not sure if it is beast in me or the man that feels that way, but my instinct is always going to be to protect you."

"If I had to guess, I probably agreed to help them to keep you safe and then would have somehow made my way back to you. Loving you the way I do now, I would never walk away from you."

Catherine stands up to pace the room. "I understand Vincent, I really do, and I want to believe you, but I am terrified that you will leave me because you think 'It's the right thing to do. How can I convince you that we are better together than we are apart?"

"I am not sure you can fully understand what I went through last year when you went missing. I am not sure that I can survive that again. Loving you they way I do, it almost seems too much, almost toxic….."

Vincent is watching her with predator eyes; his heart is beating out of his chest, because it sounds like she is going to break up with him.

Catherine stops pacing and just stands there looking at him. Her eyes are huge in her face and her bottom lip is quivering.

Vincent is afraid to move, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck, all he can do is stand still staring at her.

Neither one of them is saying a word.

Catherine is trying to listen to Tess, to put herself in Vincent's place, would she do the same thing, would she sacrifice herself for him. If she is honest with herself, yes, she would do the same thing if it meant keeping Vincent safe. If she had the chance to set him free from his beast, she would take it, no matter what the cost to her.

That was the problem, neither one of them had boundaries when it came to each other. They each would do whatever it took to protect the other.

Catherine spoke first. "I promise to never make a decision about you or about us without first talking about it, including anything to do with beasts or not being a beast. I promise no matter what happens I will never stop loving you and I will never stop fighting for you…..for us….."

"Can you promise me the same Vincent?"

"Catherine Chandler, I love you, you are the strongest and most courageous woman I have ever met. I promise that I will never make a decision about us without talking to you first. I will never give up and I will never back down and no matter what happens, I will trust you to find me and I will trust you to believe that I will find you.

I am not the same Vincent I was last year, but I love you, can you love me…. the me that I am now?" Vincent asks, holding his breath, waiting for her to say something.

"Yes", she says quietly, as she starts to break down.

Vincent is there in the next heartbeat, grabbing her up in his arms, they cling to each other.

Vincent picks her up and carries her into her room and lies down on the bed with her. He holds her in his arms as she cries. She is crying like he has never seen her cry before. Huge gut wrenching sobs that threaten to tear him apart.

Catherine is finally letting go…..of the pain of losing him, of finding him so changed, of shooting him, of almost losing him again. She clings to him, he is her lifeline and in his arms she feels safe enough to let it all go.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Catherine woke up in Vincent's arms. He was curled around her like a barrier, as if his mere presence could keep the real world at bay.

Vincent could tell that Catherine was awake, he lay there afraid to move, afraid that the events of yesterday would come rushing back and the fear of losing her would come with it.

"Hey", Catherine said looking up at Vincent.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head, "Did you get enough sleep? How are you feeling?"

She stretched up to kiss him. "Much better, I feel lighter somehow."

"I'm glad" said Vincent. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really, but I would kill for a cup of coffee!"

Vincent chuckled and got up to get it for her. As she watched him walk out of her room, Catherine let her mind wander to the events of yesterday. She reflected on what she had learned both about Vincent and her Father. Mentally she understood where they both were coming from, her heart was still a little tender, but that would just take some time.

"I am going to jump in the shower, meet me there with the coffee!" She yells out to the kitchen.

Vincent is standing at the counter waiting for the coffee. He grins to himself, "Shower….He glares at the coffee pot "Hurry Up….."

When Vincent enters the bathroom, Catherine is already in the shower. The heat and steam make it difficult to make out her form behind the glass, but he can sense she is in there and her hazy silhouette is just visible.

Vincent takes off his clothes and carefully holding her cup of coffee, slides open the shower door and steps inside. "Here is your coffee" he says making sure she knows he is there, so as not to spill the scalding hot coffee.

"Vincent! Oh My! You didn't have to bring it in here…."

"Switch with me, and turn around."

Catherine changes places with Vincent, he is under the water and she is now in front of him, facing the wall, cup of coffee in her hand. She takes her first sip.

"Mmmm, this is so good."

"How is this?" Vincent asks as he takes her shampoo and lathers her hair. He massages her scalp.

"That's good too, although it is making it hard to sip my coffee."

He moves his hands to her shoulders, his hands slippery from her shampoo. He rubs her shoulders, focusing on the kinks and knots he finds there.

Catherine has her head down and is drinking her coffee as he continues to massage her shoulders.

He works his way down her back, marveling at the strength of her. Her back has two little dimples right at the base and he takes his thumbs and presses into them, rubbing the tension out of her.

Catherine is sweating, even though she is naked and wet and not directly under the water. The heat from the shower, the heat from her coffee and the heat being generated by Vincent's hands on her body is causing heat to build within her. She takes one last sip of her coffee and then opens the shower door to set it down.

As she bends over to set her cup down, Vincent's hands move lower, rubbing her ass.

Catherine turns around and locks her arms around Vincent's neck. She reaches up on her tip toes and kisses him gently.

Vincent cups Catherine's ass and pulls her against him. He leans back and the water pours down over them as they continue to kiss. His hands run up her back and grab the back of her neck to angle her so he can kiss her deeper. She tastes of coffee and of Catherine.

Catherine moans into his mouth and presses herself against him.

"Vincent" she whispers his name against his mouth as her hands come up to the back of his neck.

Vincent picks her up and she wraps her legs around his waist. He is so strong it seems effortless for him to hold her there, making love to her mouth while she grinds against his erection.

Vincent is breathless…he pulls back and looks into her eyes. She smiles at him as she lifts up and he slides himself inside her.

He closes his eyes, just savoring the feel of her tight around him, he feels home.

Catherine draws her hand over his closed eyes, gently moving it down to his lips. She leans forward and captures his bottom lip with her teeth; she pulls it into her mouth, her tongue rubbing against it.

Vincent growls and slides his tongue inside Catherine's mouth. It is as if they cannot breathe without one another. Catherine begins to rock back and forth, the friction building between them.

Vincent backs Catherine up against the wall of the shower and they begin to move together. Catherine wraps her arms around Vincent's head as he places his mouth against her neck, feeling her blood pound beneath his tongue.

They come together faster and harder, all the little noises Catherine makes urging Vincent on. The crescendo builds until Vincent can feel Catherine start to come apart around him, with one last thrust he seats himself to the hilt and gives himself up to her.

In the aftermath they are breathing heavy, foreheads pressed together….. Vincent gently lowers Catherine and they both stand on shaky legs.

She looks up at him smiling, "Thanks for the coffee."

As they are getting dressed they come up with a game plan for the day. They decide together that everyone should meet at the "Lair" and figure out what to do next.

Catherine looks around the bar at everyone. Vincent is stealing JT's granola bars to make cereal. She makes a mental note that JT and Tess are looking very comfortable together. And that leaves Gabe and Tori. Tori still seems a little uncomfortable, but is leaning against Gabe as if to get some support. She feels blessed and full. Vincent is hers once again and the people she loves are all around her, united. She feels complete and ready to take on anything.

Catherine brings them all up to speed on everything she and Vincent learned yesterday from Bob. She gives them all a minute to digest the information that Vincent had agreed to help Bob, but did not agree to have his memories wiped and his humanity taken, and that there is a super secret agency, "Sealgairi'" that hunts beasts and makes sure that they remain a secret!

JT is the first to ask a question(s), "so….the Sealgairi' used Vincent to take out Muirfield, right? And Bob is a member of this organization, so how big are they? And how much do they know about beasts? And how to make beasts and do we tell them about this skeleton? And how do we keep you safe from them now? Do they know about Tori? And can they tell us what belongs in the beast collar?" JT was out of breath…..

Vincent laughed, placing his hand on JT's shoulder. "One thing at a time JT"

JT caught his breath and continued on…. "What about Dr. Markus? He knows your alive, should you go public? Not about being a beast but the fact that you're alive?" If you do that what will you do for a living or what do we say you have been doing this whole time? You have had amnesia? Witness protection? I can make documents to make it look like you have been practicing medicine this whole time. Oh My God I need a Tums!"

Vincent looked at his friends…they were really his family. Everything they were doing, everything they were involved in, was because of him. He choked up thinking about how much he loved them all and how much he had missed them.

Catherine noticed Vincent's emotional reaction; she placed her hand on his arm to steady him. Stepping forward she said. "We need to talk to Bob again and find out what he knows about Sealgairi' and what their plan is. We can decide after that if we tell them about the skeleton or the collar. As for going public, that is up to Vincent." She turned and looked at him.

He turned and looked at JT, "What do you think?"

"Well, it might make you safer…." At everyone's incredulous looks, JT explained. "If you are a public figure it makes it harder for you to just disappear. There is a story here, you have been presumed dead for 10 years, you go public and the spotlight will shine on you. The Sealgairi' can't take you out easily if you are a public figure. And I really can get you documentation to show that your medical license is up to date. Vincent you could be a Doctor again."

Tori also chimed in. "Vincent I can help with that too, at least in the society pages, I can make sure your seen and we could go with a story about how your rescued me and were injured, causing your memory to come back."

Gabe also had an opinion. "Vincent you need to think long and hard, this kind of spotlight can work both ways, if anyone sees you beast out, between You Tube, Twitter and Vine, that will be exposed more quickly as well. Once you put yourself out there, there is no going back and you will be putting Catherine at risk as well."

"Plus I have to tell my family…my nephew and sister-in-law. My parents and brothers are both gone, but there is a pretty big extended family that I am going to have to let know I am alive."

Now Vincent was feeling overwhelmed…just the idea of practicing medicine again, of helping people instead of hurting them….of seeing his family…but keeping Catherine safe was his first priority and to do that he had to strike some type of bargain with Sealgairi'.

"JT, I need some of those Tums!"

Catherine and Vincent met with Bob; Gabe was with them this time.

Catherine spoke to Bob first, "You have to understand that I will never forgive you for what you did to Vincent. It was bad enough that you forced him to help you, using his love for me, but erasing him and taking away who he was, that is unforgivable, so you are going to help us because it is the right thing to do, NOT because you are looking for something from me. Is that clear?"

Bob looked at Catherine, how strange it was to be so proud of someone, when you had no part in raising them, no part in anything good in their lives. Yet sitting here, watching her defend Vincent and stand up to him after everything he had done to both of them, he was proud of her. Vanessa and Thomas had done right with Catherine, she was an amazing young women. He owed it to her and to them to make sure she was safe and happy.

"Yes, perfectly," He said to Catherine. "What can I do?"

Vincent jumped in the conversation. "I need to make contact with the Sealgairi, to make a deal with them to keep Catherine safe."

Bob looked hard at Vincent. "If you wanted to keep her safe, you should have left her alone…..But I can see looking at the two of you….. that was never going to be possible. You can contact them, I have a number, but I don't know how you're going to convince them to leave you alone. This organization is hundreds of years old. Eradicating beasts and keeping them a secret is their life's work."

Vincent continued, "I have something they want so I am going to make a deal, but first I am going to go public." At Bob's panicked look, Vincent explains. "Not with the beast thing, but with the still alive thing. It will make it harder for them to just make me disappear if I am a public figure."

Gabe asks Bob, "What do you think the chances are of keeping Catherine safe, she knows about Beasts, how much do they know about her?"

Bob explains that he did not tell anyone about Vincent and Catherine's connection that was something he had tried to sever on his own. "They don't know about you, but if Vincent goes public, they will…."

Catherine says, "They will have no idea if I know about Beasts, even if Vincent goes public, he is not going to advertise that he is a beast, so while it will be obvious I know him, it won't be that I know about beasts."

Vincent asks for the contact number and tells Bob that he will be back and that if he has any connections or sources he can work from inside his jail cell to keep Catherine safe, he better do it.

So the plan is in motion. Vincent will go public, about being alive. The cover story is that he had selective amnesia going back 10 years as to his own personal history, but he had been working in Canada as a Dr. He was in the states on holiday when he rescued Tori from burglars who were trying to steal from her Father's shop. He was shot and while he had been healing his memories came back. He wanted to resume his life back in NY and continue to practice medicine and spend time with his family and friends.

Tori starts making plans to have a press conference to reveal Vincent to the world.

Vincent tells Catherine that he has to meet with Aaron and his Mom before going public. "I think I am more scared of seeing them, than I have been of anything in a long time."

"I know Vincent," she says wrapping her arms around him, "but they are going to be so happy to see you, Aaron might be mad for a bit, but he will get over it. You deserve to be loved by more than just me, your family, your history; you deserve to have your life back."

"Do you want me to come with you? Or would you rather do this with JT?"

"Actually I better do this on my own. I will come see you when I am done."

"OK, I love you," Catherine says pulling his head down for a kiss.

"I love you too; he smiles at her as he walks out the door."

Vincent stands in front of the brick federal style home. His palms are sweating and his heart is racing. He closes his eyes and takes a breath, unclenches his fists and walks up to the front door. He knocks….

The door is opened by a beautiful blonde woman, she has aged some in the last 10 years, but Vincent can still see the young woman that his brother William fell in love with.

"Hello?" she says as she opens the door, before he can say anything she looks up at him. "Vincent?" she whispers…. "Vincent is that really you?"

"Yes Grace it is"

She stands there looking at him, she lifts her arms up and Vincent steps into them, and just like that he is home.

They stand there in the doorway, Grace holds him tightly, "I can't believe it's really you". She says into his chest.

"It's me Grace, I am sorry I have been gone so long." Vincent closes his eyes to stop the tears from rolling down his face.

She looks up at him, smiles and says "You have to come and see Aaron, he will be so happy to know you're alive."

Vincent smiles, but inside he is thinking…. I am not so sure about that.

Grace calls for Aaron and once again Vincent is standing still, heart racing and fists clenched. Aaron comes downstairs and when he sees Vincent he stops on the steps and just stares.

"I knew it…..I knew it…."

"Aaron, I can explain…"

"No, its ok, your partner explained it pretty well. You were undercover, you saved my life."

Grace is looking at both Aaron and Vincent, "what is going on?"

"Aaron, Grace, you both need to sit down and let me try and explain."

Vincent explains as best he can, without going into any details about the beast experiments. He explains to Grace and Aaron that the story they will hear on the news isn't exactly the truth. He did have amnesia, just not as long at the story will say. He could not contact them over the last 10 years for their own safety, again not going into too much detail.

"Aaron, I really wanted to tell you who I was. I was still having some memory issues when I saw you and seeing you actually helped me to remember William and parts of my life that had been wiped. I just couldn't for you and your Mom's safety."

"Uncle Vincent, I really do understand. I felt like I knew you after you pulled me out of that fire, you felt so familiar, but it had been so long since I had seen you and of course I thought you were dead, so I managed to convince myself that it wasn't really you. I am glad you are alive."

"You guys aren't mad at me?" Vincent tentatively asks Grace and Aaron.

Grace grabs Vincent's hands. "Vincent, why on earth would we be mad at you? We love you and further more we know you…..we trust you, if you stayed away all these years you must had a good reason."

"Uncle Vincent, all that matters now is that you are home."

And for the first time in a long while, Vincent felt like he was…


End file.
